Many a hole left in viewers hearts as 'Deirdre' dies

A constant on the Weatherfield cobbles since the early 1970s, originally Deirdre Barlow was only meant to be a bit part.

But viewers fell in love with her oversized glasses, gravelly voice and her love life was never dull.

When she married onscreen husband Ken Barlow in 1981, 24 million people turned in - almost as many as Prince Charles and Diana's wedding in the same year.

And the pair's on-off relationship went on to capture viewers imagination for more than three decades.

So powerful was Anne's portrayal that when her character Deirdre was wrongly jailed for fraud the British public started a campaign to "Free the Weatherfield One".

Previously Anne Kirkbride had suffered and overcome Non-Hodgkins lymphoma, a form of cancer.

And only yesterday there were rumours she was quitting the soap after becoming exhausted by recent storylines.

But with the news tonight, she has left a hole in many a viewers heart.

ITV News Correspondent Richard Pallot reports: